Temple Belligra
Temple Belligra is one of the main Religions of the Virasana Empire, charged with protecting the faithful. Its main temple is the Ordensburg on the southern fringe of habitable space on Svansgard, where they have extensive training facilities overlooking the Shrine of Saint Ulrich. If there is something like a head of the order, it's Father Caradini, the Archbishop of Svansgard. Tenets of Faith To the Belligra, God is a benevolent but testing deity, offering salvation to all, but their particular love to all who help others on their path. All souls are threatened on their path to salvation, be it by sin or demons, eager to taint or destroy. The Belligra have taken upon them to help others either by defending those in need or destroying those who endanger others, until the day the universe reaches a state of perfect mutual respect and acceptance, a state they call Comity (occasionally also Amity or Serenity). Their Faith is expressed through rigorous training and well defined liturgy, with manifold numbers of Saints and Angels, all of them named, sorted and categorized. Services tend to be brief and practical affairs with the flair of a quick battlefield fix. Personal property is generally allowed, but encouraged to be limited to no more than can be carried into battle. Belligra are free to love whoever they desire, but are not allowed to marry as to keep them free of obligations that might keep them from moving into battle. Vestments and public perception The heavily armed and / or armoured battle priests of the Belligra are the Empire’s most formidable fighting force. And yet, as an army of highly independant, morally educated individuals, it is rarely used for political purposes. Highly skilled and devoted, they are all but impossible to control and even harder to reign in. Everyone knows their white tunics, often bearing the symbols of individual orders or Saints, and can tell a heavily armoured Shield from a Sword who barely wears more than that tunic. Their buildings, armours and clothings seem to be invariably white (or rather, off-white and ivory), stark and pristine at the same time. And yet there is a stunning, unbridled beauty to their highly stylized, garishly coloured icons and religious art that may be simplistic, but is none the less deeply emotional and easily accessible. So while many Belligra see themselves as rather crude tools in the service of God, most hold a particular place of respect for people who create beauty - be it art, music or a meal prepared with love. Training All Belligra monasteries accept applicants without looking at rank, age, gender, race or any other social distinctions. As long as you get through the initial training, anyone can join them - though a lot hopeful young people have dropped out once they learned that it's not only physically demanding but also setting highest standarts of mental, emotional and ethic qualities. Once accepted, novices are trained either to become Shields (defensive focus), Swords (offensive focus) or a Patch (Reconnaissance and Infrastructure). Novices in training are free (within reason) to chose a name for themselves and even change that one to reflect their growth. A final decision has to be made only before ordination. Politics Notable Members Belligra Notable Holdings Belligra Holdings Other Articles on Temple Belligra Temple Belligra Category:Factions Category:Religions